Following her graduation from Oregon Law, Bonamici was an attorney for the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, D.C., where she was in the Credit Practices Division of the Bureau of Consumer Protection. She and her husband, Michael H. Simon, moved to the Portland area in 1986. She was in private practice from 1986 to 1989.

In 2007, Bonamici was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives. In 2008, she was appointed and then elected to the Oregon Senate and in 2011 she became assistant majority leader.

Bonamici was sworn in as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives on Feb. 7, 2012, and elected for a full term in November of that year. The 1st Congressional District of Oregon, which she represents, comprises the Northwest portion of the state.

She serves on the House Education & the Workforce Committee and the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, where she is a ranking member on the subcommittee on the environment.

Oregon Law's commencement exercises will take place beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 17, at the Hult Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Eugene. Oregon Law also will be recognizing the Honorable John V. Acosta, of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon, and late Dean Emeritus Eugene Scoles with the school's Meritorious Service Award during the day's exercises.